Mobile phones to facilitate connected social learning and work-based practices in marginalized settings.

Insights from a Research Project in Rural South Africa

Speaker: Christoph Pimmer, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland

Co-authors: Sebastian Linxen; Urs Gröhbiel, Jennifer Chipps, Petra Brysiewicz Fiona Walters

Introduction & Background

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Background: nursing education in rural (South) Africa

Importance: Nurses are “backbone” of the health system

Challenge: Professionally isolated, little support and training

Many of them fall sick or die, leave the profession or migrate to Western states (Raisler and Cohn, 2005).

± 840 km

± 526 km

± 574 km

± 694 Km

± 420 km

Remoteness: distance to educational opportunities

Field study – interviews about informalwork-related use of phones

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Field study: Approach and Methods

RQ: Whether nurses in rural areas use mobile phones, and mobile social media, to support work-related learning? If so how and why?

Data gathering: Interviews with 16 nurse students, facilitators and clinical managers

Inductive content analysis

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Field study: Results

Several organically-grown”, learning practices were identified: mobile phone usage facilitated

(1) authentic problem solving;

(2) reflective practice;

(3) emotional support and belongingness;

(4) the realization of unpredictable teaching situations; and

(5) life-long learning Source: Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/unfoundation/3239150042/

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Authentic problem solving & reflective practice

Sometimes you use the (Facebook) group afterwards, after you have managed the patient, to see how you went, where you went wrong, how you did, or sometimes they say I messed up. Then, they give you the reasons, or sometimes they will tell you, oh, well done, but you missed that and that. (nurse student)

Emotional and social support

Mobile phone-based emotional support was provided that went far beyond clinical problem solving

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Realization of unpredictable teaching situations

We would phone and tell her that […] maybe if she is close by, she will come around. […] Then, she will teach us in the real situation, not like we are doing a theory in class. (09)

Life-long learning

Nurses were provided with more, and more diverse options to participate and engage in social spaces (e.g. religious communities on social networking sites) and to access opportunities for learning not previously possible (e.g. by using mobile internet to search for new posts).

“It is part of my life now […] a means of contact, a means of learning. You know, people who have phones just learn a lot.” (12)

Design Research – a FB group to support development of analytical/research skills

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Study 2 Action research

Research question:

Does systematic application of mobile social media facilitate effective learning practices? how/why?

Intervention:

Goal: development of a research proposal by 5 groups of nurses

Participants: 2nd year students of advanced midwifery course (n=47)

Format: a closed group on a social network site (FB) in which guidance was provided by a lecturer

Implementation: Project officer visited the 5 sites to provide initial support

Duration: over 4 months

Analysis: Content/interaction analysis & Pre, Post and Post-Post-Test

Overview: Preliminary findings

All student groups submitted feasible research project plans

Intensive interaction & rich forms of supervision activities found

Significant differences between pre, post and post-post test

Design Research – interaction patternsPreliminary findings

Analysis according to a research supervision framework (Lee, 2008)

Lee, A. 2008. How are doctoral students supervised? Concepts of doctoral research supervision. Studies in Higher Education, 33(3): 267-281.

%

Interaction patterns (preliminary)

Majority of interaction based on functional aspects and triggering critical thinking

Emancipation and enculturation to a lesser extent

Relationship development over time

Communication was mainly based on lecturer – 1-2 representatives of the group

Many more lurkers and observers

Now that most of us are in the Group - I want you all to start thinking of a midwifery topic that you may be interested in doing.. Lecturer

In thinking of the methodology, think of how will you go about collecting the data. How will you access the patients or the research subjects? How many will you need […] and How will you go about collecting the data (which tool?

Happy international nurses day for yesterday http://www.icn.ch/publications/2013-closing-the-gap-millennium-development-

You need to write in research language. The aim of the study is to investigate ..

Lecturer: I miss our daily chats :-) …. . Student1: well im not sure what to do now anyways so that would be lovely.... we miss u tooStudent 2: we miss u 2 u too […]. Well after examz we will backLecturer: Good luck with the exams!!!!

Design Research –Survey Preliminary findings

5 Several times a

day

4 Several

times a week

3 Several times

a month

2 Once a month

1 Less often/

0 N/A Never

Item Pre Post Post Post

I use Facebook for learning in my course (n=28) 0.8(±1.1) 3.9(±1.1) 3.2(±1.6)

How often do you use FACEBOOK to discuss your course with peers or other students (n=30)

0.8(±1.0) 3.0(±1.8) 3.6(±2.0)

How often do you use these mobile functions to chat, discuss, or ask questions about your course with facilitators / lecturers with FACEBOOK (n=35)

0.9(±1.2) 2.2(±1.5) 2.5(±1.9)

Use of Facebook to support learning in the courses

5 Several times a

day

4 Several

times a week

3 Several times

a month

2 Once a month

1 Less often/

0 N/A Never

Item Pre Post Post Post

I engage on Facebook activities that relates to clinical topics (n=25)

0.7(±0.8) 3.3(±1.3) 3.5(±1.8)

I use Facebook to discuss about my work as a nurse with colleagues(n=28)

1.2(±1.5) 2.7(±1.8) 3.1(±1.6)

I engage with particular sites on Facebook that relates to medical and clinical topics (n=28)

0.6(±0.7) 3.0(±1.6) 2.9(±1.7)

Work-related communication based on Facebook

Item Pre Post Post Post Chi-

Square

Social media sites such as Facebook are important in my daily life (n=34)

2.6(±1.4) 3.8(±1.1) 2,7(±0.9) 17.9

Social media sites such as Facebook are important for my learning/nursing education. (n=34)

2.8(±1.3) 4.0(±0.9) 3.1(±1.1) 25.6

Social media (Facebook) are essential for learning (n=35)

3.1(±1.4) 3.7(±1.1) 3.1(±1.2) 13.4

Perceive value of FB for learning

1 Strongly disagree … 5 Strongly agree

Rich mobile learning practices in informal settings relating to

learning processes and social participation

(but not by all learners/nurses)

Research supervision of student groups on FB

In the course: was effective by providing direction & triggering critical thinking

increased the use of FB for other work- and course related interactions from a mid-term perspective

Increased the perceived value of FB for learning during the course

First conclusions

Pre Post Post-Post

University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland21

Connect

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Questions? Just contact me